Never Crossed His Mind
by tolkienlover
Summary: Raeger loves Minori—she's his whole world. Yet, some things just don't cross his mind, like what whipped cream kisses taste like after work or how to share a bed with a girl who's nearly as tall as he is. (Minori X Raeger; rated T for suggestive themes)


_Hey guys! So, yeah, here I am again. I couldn't help it - After I found Raeger, there was NO way I couldn't write about him! Anyways, I've got another short story fic for you guys; I'll also be working on " **The One Hundred Times** ", but I'm still in school as of right now, so updates may be sort of slow. Hopefully, I can update once every week, though! Anyways, explanation for this fic is at the bottom. _

_Thnak you, and hope you enjoy!_

 ** _Disclaimer - Harvest Moon: Story of Seasons is NOT mine, so all credits and rights to them, other than the actual writing. Thanks for creating such epic characters! Also, cover art belongs to someone else. (Thanks, Google Images!)_**

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 _It never crossed his mind…_ that he would share his bed with Minori.

* * *

 _O! let me have thee whole,—all—all—be mine!_

 _That shape, that fairness, that sweet minor zest_

 _Of love, your kiss,—those hands, those eyes divine,_

 _That warm, white, lucent, million-pleasured breast,_

 _Yourself—your soul—in pity give me all,_

 _Withhold no atom's atom or I die_

 _\- "I Cry Your Mercy", John Keats_

* * *

Perhaps, if there had been one thing Raeger would of wished for in that moment, it would have been for Minori.

He was closing up, the open hours of his restaurant long gone, what with misplaced chairs and napkins and salt shakers as evidence that he had indeed had one of the busiest days of service that he had ever had in his entire life. The man ran a hand through his hair, disarraying it further than it was already, and sighed, his eyes scanning for last minute clean up, searching for something that he might of missed.

Chairs were pushed back beneath tables, napkins were tossed into the silver garbage can, and even the salt shakers were straightened and returned to their places; it seemed that he had done quite the thorough job.

And yet, his eyes caught on something that made him his mouth turn up in the corners, his cheeks flushing darker. It seemed as though his wish had been granted.

Minori had her head down on one of the furthest tables, the one shadowed in the very corner of the room. Her light hair was splayed on the tabletop and her shoulders moved with gentle strokes, her breath soft against the wood surface.

Guilt ran through Raeger at the sight; he hadn't been able to take a proper lunch break that day, seeing as customers were streaming in and out throughout the hours, and thus had been unable to spend any time with the girl. Usually, he would sit with her for a moment to talk about something irrelevant as she ate and he smiled, both of them laughing, until his fifteen minutes were gone, which to the two of them, seemed to fly like light itself.

He sighed as the clock chimed—late, as always, by two minutes—and his eyes widened as he caught the time: two minutes past midnight. The man swiped down his countertop with an old rag one last time and he then approached Minori with a slight smile, running a hand through his hair.

Careful not to scrape the legs against the tile, Raeger pulled out the chair next to her and settled himself into it. There, he was close enough to hear her breathing—soft and slow, her nose pressed against the tabletop.

It was then that she moved, her head tilting to the side, and her face revealed itself from beneath the mess of curls atop her head; her cheeks were flushed pink and a sleep mark was prominent across the bridge of her nose. Raeger couldn't help himself when he brushed a curl from across her face, his finger touching lightly against her soft skin, warm and quiet.

Minori made a sound of contentment that made the man grin.

Gently, he ran his hand over her face again, this time over her cheekbone, and laughed quietly when her mouth opened in a yawn, her arms moving to stretch. After a moment, her eyes tightened and then fluttered open.

He smiled at her.

"Rmawager?" Her voice slurred as she lifted her head to rub at her eyes, wrinkling her nose.

"Hey sleepyhead," he said, and she blinked heavily before giving him a sloppy smile, her lips tilted; "What're you doing here, Minori?"

She yawned again before replying. "Waiting for you to be done with work," she said, and it seemed that in that moment, her eyes adjusted and she caught sight of the empty restaurant, cleaned tables, and dimmed light. "Whoa," Minori shook her head, "What time is it?"

"Midnight," Raeger said, and her eyes widened, her mouth dropping open, "You must of fallen asleep when you came in after seven."

"Oh, I'm sorry Raeger, I just—" She paused as her face reddened and her hand went instinctively to tug at a piece of her hair, "I just wanted to see you."

His own face flushed as well, but his grin widened and he reached forward again to swipe another lock of her hair from her face, revealing her crystalline, emerald eyes hidden beneath full lashes. "Don't be sorry. I'm glad you stayed. But…" He laughed as his finger brushed across the dent in her skin, a sleep mark caused by the lines in the table, and he pulled his hand away to ruffle her hair. "I can't imagine this table has been very comfortable."

"Not particularly," she admitted, "You should invest in some better tables, love, these are downright _horrendous_ for napping."

"They aren't exactly made to be slept on."

"Yeah, yeah," Minori said quietly, rolling her eyes and grinning before her mouth gave out to another yawn. Her arms stretched out above her head and she sighed. "I should probably go home, then."

They stayed still for a moment until she reached out to catch his hands in hers; it was nearly funny, the way they fit together—both had thin hands, long fingers that twined together like yarn, fit together like a long-lost puzzle. Raeger ran his thumb over the skin of her knuckles before she sighed and moved to stand, pulling him with her.

He stood quickly; she was much slower. Minori got to her feet in a slow mess of messy hair and tangled limbs, sleep still written across her face like a brand, her eyelids drooped. She nearly toppled into Raeger when her boot caught against the chair leg, and he caught her before she could fall, encircling her waist with his right arm, his left caught in her hair.

Her face pressed into the crook of his collarbone—which had always been one thing that Raeger appreciated; Minori was nearly his height, clocking in at a surprising 5'10, giving him the opportunity to press his nose into her hair, to hold her closer without worrying that he was smothering her. She sighed against the skin of his throat, tilting her head up to yawn into his neck, and he froze against her.

"I better go," she said, softly, her breath warm against his skin, "It's a long walk home."

He was quiet for a moment as he held her in his arms, his face pressed to her hair, the scent of cream heavy in his nose. His choices, it seemed, ran thin, but as he contemplated everything in that moment—Minori, her smile, her laugh, her eyes, _her_ —words sounded from his tongue before he could stop them.

"You could stay here," Raeger said quietly, and it seemed that she stopped breathing, "I—I mean, if you'd like. It's already late and your farm is way down the road…"

Minori looked up at him then, and it was clear that she was more than pleased with what he had said. Her eyes glowed in the dim lights, brightened to the point of shining, though her cheeks had darkened to a subtle dark pink. The girl smiled at him, her eyelids still drooped slightly, and she wrapped her arms around Raeger's middle to laugh into him. "Well, yes, if that's alright. I put Leche and Peaches in the barn before I left, so they should be fine."

He only stared at her for a bit, as if he was in shock that she had actually said yes, and then jerkily pulled away, much to Minori's surprise. The man gestured to the apron still tied around his neck and laughed nervously. Untying the strings at the back of his neck, Raeger balled the apron up and tossed it into the corner of the room and then turned to Minori with a slight smile.

She was yawning again. When she noticed his amused glance, Minori stuck out her tongue at him. "You'd be tired too if your cow ran you halfway across town because you accidentally fed it a horse treat."

"I'm sure I would be, Min." He laughed again as she caught his neck between her arms, pulling herself to be eye-level with the man.

"Try it sometime," she said challengingly, her mouth quirked up, "I _dare_ you."

Raeger ruffled her hair with his left hand and broke her eye-contact with a slight glance. "I think it's bedtime for the farmer."

She protested when he pulled away from her, only to clamp her mouth shut when Raeger knocked her legs out from beneath her, lifting her into his arms and pulling her closely to his body. Her arms caught heavily around his neck, her face pressed to his neck as she laughed at herself, giggling as the man holding her approached the stairs with a doubtful expression. "Good luck with that," she said, "Tall girls and long stairways don't mix, but when there's tall boys _carrying_ tall girls, well…"

He took one stair at a time—much faster than the farmer had anticipated, in all honesty—and when he reached the top, he was hardly out of breath, though his face was quite flushed. Minori was still giggling, though her face had revealed itself from his neck to watch his very determined face.

"Impressive," she said, and laughed again when he nodded in triumph, "I didn't think you could do it."

Raeger walked down the short hallway, past two doors and a window, to the end of the hall, where a lone door stood tall. He slowed for a moment and then nodded, kicking open the door with the edge of his shoe and entering without a second thought.

He set Minori down, and though she would of liked very much to snoop, she merely glanced around, smiling to herself at all the trinkets and bits that reminded her so much of the chef. She had seen the room before, but in the light of the moon coming in through the window, Minori took things in quite a different sense.

Raeger cleared his throat. "I have extra shirts in the bottom drawer, if you'd like to change," he said, and his voice was rough—it made Minori blush; "I'll be back in a bit." He disappeared through the door, closing it softly behind him and letting it click shut.

Quietly, Minori sighed and pulled her fingers through her hair, moving closer to Raeger's dresser with a bashful expression. Was it proper for her to look through them? The idea of staying with the man had seemed like a good idea at first, but remembering that she had yet to spend the night with one hit her like a pile of stones, leaving her breathless and unsure.

The bottom drawer slid open easily enough, moving without a creak or a hitch. Settled in the container were dozens of t-shirts that Minori had very rarely seen—some of them never at all. Raeger liked to dress formally, but he did change out for certain occasions. The girl pulled at a shirt she recognized—a dark green t-shirt, plain other than the lighter rimming and a back that read, " _Chef Raeger"_ in a carefully printed font—and decidedly reasoned it would be alright if she wore it. To the left of the drawer were neatly folded pajama pants that made the girl grin.

She, as quickly as possible, pulled her shirt over her head, leaving her camisole beneath, and pulled Raeger's shirt over her head. Minori laughed when she realized it smelled just like him—like soap and thyme. Pushing her shirt to the side with her shoe, Minori yanked past her pants and pulled on the closest pair of pajama pants she spotted, dark plaid ones that she couldn't imagine Raeger ever wearing.

Just as she decided she was decent, there was a slight knock at the door. "Minori? Hey, are you alright?"

"Yeah," she returned, "I'm done."

The door creaked open and Raeger entered with a stumbling motion, rubbing behind his neck. He caught sight of Minori standing beside his dresser and instantly grinned, shaking his hair out over his forehead. He had changed into a very similar pair of clothes—a t-shirt and pajama pants, though he usually would of gone with something much less for the weather.

"I like your shirt," he said, and she laughed, pulling at the hem of it with a smile.

"You would."

Once more, a yawn burst to her mouth, leaving her eyes drooping and her arms curled around herself. Raeger took a cautious step towards her and she met him halfway; Minori brought her face close to his warm skin and breathed him in, his scent close and comforting and there. "Thanks for letting me stay, Raeger," she said softly, and his hands went to play with her hair.

"You know you're welcome here," he replied, running his hands over her back, ghosting over her shape through a shirt he knew well. With a quick motion, he had her in his arms again and carried her, none-too-abashedly to the bed, his cheeks pink.

Minori hardly noticed—her breathing was already slowed, her eyes closed. She felt safe with him; Raeger brought her a sense of safety and warmth that no one else could. He was her sun and she was the moon and their eclipse constantly brought her reassurance that wonderful things do happen, strange things with beautiful faces and melted, hazel eyes and toffee hair that she could thread her fingers through.

Raeger laid her gently in the bed and slid in behind her, engulfing her body with his arms. She instantly went to press warmly against his chest, her face against his collarbone, her breath hot against his skin and sighed in contentment. His bed was small and they were pushed together—Raeger hadn't considered that his bed was hardly big enough for him; him _and_ Minori was most likely quite the sight. They laid diagonally in the bed, his nose pressed to her hair, her warm breath soft and kind and familiar against his skin.

His right hand was curled at the very tips of her hair, playing with the edges, letting them run over his knuckles and his palms with soft strokes; his left hand made awed movements over her shoulder, down her side, resting at the small of her back and staying there, his fingers brushing past the hem of her shirt to run soothingly across the smooth skin that it revealed.

"Rmwaegewr?"

Minori's jumbled attempt at his name was feather-light to his neck, making him laugh under his breath and look down to her tired form. She was beautiful that way—though she was beautiful any way, really—with her hair sprawled around her face and her cheeks flushed and her body curled to his; she didn't open her eyes when she spoke to him, but he saw her mouth turn up at the corners. "Yes?"

The girl's hand pulled lightly on his chin until he was at her level, and with still-closed eyes, Minori pressed a warm and brief kiss to the man's mouth, only pulling away to lean back into him. "G'nmight," she whispered, settling herself close to him once more.

He moved his mouth to her ear, his nose brushing against the curls of her hair on the way there, and murmured, "Goodnight, Minori."

And though it hadn't crossed his mind that sleeping with Minori would be something quite like this, Raeger truly believed that perhaps he should of considered it much earlier.

* * *

 _So yeah, I hope you enjoyed!_

 ** _Explanation -_**

 _ **first:** this writing was inspired by TheSoundofMusic, a writer here on , because of their own work, "Never Have I Ever". I loved the idea so much that I wanted to try and do something similar, just with a bit of a different twist to it. I've changed the plots, themes, and even entire games, so they're really nothing alike other than the fact that it's the same concept (you should totally go read that one though! It's AMAZING.) _

_**second:** this is going to be a few short stories for Raeger and Minori about things that Raeger has never thought about, but happen anyways. Some will be cute fluff, sorta like this on, and some will be more serious! Hope you all will enjoy it though!_

 _Thanks so much, and hope to see you all soon!_


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